This Won't End Well
by Scoobert0
Summary: Neal goes undercover facing one of the worst possible situations imaginable. It's up to Peter to get him back before it's too late. *Neal whumpage*
1. Prologue

**AN: So I had a bout of writer's block on my other story, and decided to try some Neal whumpage. Enjoy and review please! More is more than likely to come. : )**

_Drip, drip, drip, drip_

Neal groaned softly as he slowly started waking up.

_Drip, drip, drip_

:_ God, that's annoying._: He thought groggily :_Did I forget to turn the sink off all the way?_:

_Drip, drip, drip, drip_

He tried to roll over and found that he couldn't move. Hazy blue eyes snapped open and looked around frantically. From what he could see by the small light hanging overhead, he was in a small room with no door in sight. A utility light snapped on, shining in his face and making his eyes water. Struggling, he found that his wrist, elbows and ankles were zip tied to the arms and legs of a metal chair. He tried to call out, but something had been shoved in his mouth and duct tape pulled over his lips.

"Well looky, looky. Sleeping beauty finally woke up."

Neal froze when the voice spoke, trying to pin point where it had come from. A figure walked out from behind him and stopped in front of the light, facing him. A look of shock passed over Neal's face, and he began to struggle again. His struggles were stopped as a fist connected with his jaw, stunning him.

"Chill out, pretty boy. The fun hasn't even started yet." The figure drawled, patting Neal on the cheek before walking away, "Sit tight, I'll be right back."

The sound of metal scraping came from behind him, followed by silence. Then both the utility light and the overhead light went out, leaving Neal in pitch black darkness. He let his chin drop to his chest and heaved a sigh, closing his eyes.

:_Oh boy. This is not good, not good at all._: He thought solemnly.

_Drip, drip, drip_


	2. Calm Before the Storm

**AN: Thank you for all the reviews and Story Alerts! Sorry it's taken a while to get this up here, school has been evil the last couple weeks, plus the need to find a job was cutting into my writing time. So what I'm planning on doing with this is short chapters, for the most part, some may be longer than others. But there will probably be multiple updates then. Anyways, I don't know what I'm talking about, enjoy and review please! : )**

_Two Days Ago_

"Morning Peter." Neal said as he walked into his handler and friend's office and sat down across from him, "We get a new case yet?" He continued after the agent acknowledged his presence. He picked up the case file that Peter tossed him.

"Yeah. A group of women who con their way into a wealthy mark's life and then steal their most expensive possessions before fencing them and disappearing." Peter explained flatly as he watched his partner reading the file. The younger man glanced up at the agent, wondering why he was using that tone.

"What's the matter Peter?"

"Neal, we're planning on sending someone in undercover. You're the ideal candidate, but you don't have to if you don't want to."

Neal cocked his head in confusion. Why would Peter give him the option of opting out to go undercover in this situation? It's not like he's ever offered before…

"Peter, you've sent me in undercover into dangerous situations before without the option of opting out. What's the occasion?"

"We've never asked you to go into a situation where the suspects play with their food, so to speak. Twelve of the twenty victims showed symptoms of psychological abuse after their run ins with these women. The other eight were physically tortured as well."

Both men sat in silence for awhile.

"Thanks Peter."

"So…"

"I'll do it."

"Neal, you really don't have to. Hughes understands that you don't have the training that an agent would to handle th-"

"I understand as well Peter, but it's not like I've never had to deal with a situation like this. I can take care of myself." Neal said matter-of-factly, and continued on quickly when he saw Peter open his mouth to protest, "Besides, I trust you Peter, more than anyone else in my life. You'll have my back."

"Always, Neal."


	3. Where is He!

_Present_

Peter Burke sat in an interview room across from a woman in evening wear. He sat absolutely still, glaring at her and saying nothing. The woman's face reflected pure boredom as she drummed her fingers on the table.

With each minute that passed, the woman began to fidget more and more until she spoke, "What exactly do you want to know, Agent Burke?"

"Where is Neal Caffrey?" Peter growled threateningly. The only response she gave him was a sinister grin. In an instant, he was on his feet and around the table. He grabbed her chair and spun it away from the table, slamming his hands on either side of her and getting in her face.

"Where's Neal?" He whispered venomously, staring her in the eye.

"Who?" She whispered back, her tone innocent but her eyes full of knowing and malice.

"Where the hell is he?" Peter shouted, rattling the chair. The woman's mask of collectiveness fell as she stared into the agent's furious face.

"Burke!"

Peter turned his head to the side and saw Hughes standing in the doorway. He turned back to the woman.

"I'm not done with you." He said ominously before stalking out of the room. He barely registered Jones and Diana entering the room as he turned to face his angry boss.

"Peter, I know you're upset, but you can't take it out on our only suspect. It'll kill this case before we can get any tangible evidence."

"What do you mean 'only suspect'? What happened to the other one?" Peter asked angrily.

"We lost her once she hit the street, the crowds were too thick." The older agent explained.

"What?" Peter shouted in disbelief. Hughes gave him a look.

"Sorry, sir. It's just that she knows where he is and is toying with us. God only knows what her sisters are doing to Neal, and I can't do a damn thing about it. I promised him, Reese, I promised him I wouldn't let anything happen to him."

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"He's not coming for you. Why would he waste his time on a con like you? He already spent three years of his life chasing you 24/7. That's three years he could have spent with his wife and friends. Why should he care about you?"

Neal jerked on his bindings as his captor continues to taunt him. The plastic bindings were biting into his flesh and were stinging. He could feel something slick spreading around them. He glared at the shadowy figure as they paced back and forth in front of him, laughing at his struggles. A slap across his face stopped his movements, but his body started shaking with anger.

The sound of the metal door behind him scraping open and shut was accompanied by the utility light going off, and Neal was finally able to get a good look at the person who was taking pleasure in taunting him. The figure was a fit blond woman, who was rather beautiful actually, except that he big brown eyes had a look in them that promised pain. She was quickly joined by a smaller brunette, who was wearing a fancy cocktail dress as though she had just come from a dinner. The blond looked at her with annoyed confusion.

"They arrested Becky." She whispered as she set a duffle bag on the card table next to Neal and started removing items from it. The blond walked over and picked one of the objects up. She moved to stand in front of Neal, a long cruel knife in her hands.

"Well then, let the fun begin."


	4. The Deal

**AN: I am ever so sorry for not updating anything lately! School has been extremely stressful and I kinda shut down on myself for awhile. My brain is still not functioning correctly yet, so hopefully I didn't do too bad a job of writing this. Italics is what's happening on the video. And now the serious whumpage begins. Enjoy! : )**

Stunning blue eyes widened in horror as the blond brought the knife towards his stomach. Neal clenched his eyes shut and tensed his body, anticipating severe pain. Instead he felt his shirt being sliced up the middle and ripped apart, exposing his chest, shoulders, and abdomen.

Opening his eyes, he glanced up at the blond in surprise. She smirked at him, patting him on the cheek, as she addressed the brunette, "Are you ready yet?"

Neal Peeked around the blond to see what was going on. He saw that the brunette had set up a laptop and camera, which was pointed in his direction.

"That's right pretty boy, we're going to make a little video for your friends at the FBI." The knife traveled lightly across his exposed chest. It didn't break the skin, but Neal still cringed. The blond chuckled, turning to face the brunette.

"We doing this or not?"

"Ok, we're good to go."

The red light on the camera blinked on and Neal stared directly at the lens, dread creeping through his veins.

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Peter and Hughes were standing in the small observation room looking into the interview room, watching Diana drill the woman they had arrested earlier that night with question after question. They had brought her in just before 8PM, and it was now after one in the morning. In all that time, the only they had only been able to extract meaningless answers from her.

There was a knock on the door, followed by Jones entering the observation room. He held a brown package in his hands, which he extended to Peter.

"This came for you Peter. It was hand delivered by a currier, but we had it processed by forensics already, so we can handle it without gloves. Peter, it's a DVD."

Peter took the package and removed the DVD with a shaking hand. He stared at it; curious about what was on it, yet afraid to find out, noticing a dark and flaky red smudge on the top of it. Hughes reached over and removed the case from Peter's hand gently and put it in the laptop that was in the room with them. The men positioned themselves so they could all see the screen clearly. Hughes reached over and tapped the play button. Peter ground his teeth together in anger at what he saw.

_Neal was tied to a metal chair, glaring determinedly at the camera. His mouth was taped shut and someone had cut the front of his shirt open and pulled it to the sides to expose his torso and upper shoulders. Wary blue eyes glanced away from the camera to a blond woman as she strutted into the frame. She reached out and caressed Neal's face, who visibly flinched when her skin touched his. The gentle smile that was on her face turned into a cruel grin as she tore the tape from Neal's face. He gasped as he spit out a wad of cloth._

_The blond was now standing behind him, looking at the camera from over his shoulder._

"_So the time is now… A little after 11PM. Pretty boy's ass is probably getting sore from sitting in the metal chair all day, right?" She nuzzled the side of Neal's face as she spoke, her eyes never leaving the camera. Neal's jaw clenched as she licked his temple. Suddenly she grabbed a fist full of his hair, and turning his head o the side, kissed him passionately. Neal struggled to pull back, but was unable to do much. Pulling away, the blond wiped a hand across her mouth before back handing Neal across the face, making him bite his lip._

The frame froze. Peter blinked a few times at the screen before realizing that the video wasn't over, but that someone had paused the DVD.

"Peter, maybe you shouldn't watch this." Hughes said calmly, looking at the agent worriedly.

"I'm Fine. Keep playing it."

"No Peter, you're not fine. Look at your hands."

Peter, whose hands had been clenched tight, slowly and painfully unclenched them. Looking at them he saw that there were bloody half-circle marks on his palms from where his nails had dug into them. Quickly, he shook his hands to briefly relieve the stinging.

"Peter." Jones began in a comforting tone, "Why don't you go get some coffee or something."

"No. Play the video."

"Burke."

"NO DAMNIT!" He shouted, surprising himself as well as the other agents. He took a few deep breaths before continuing in a calmer voice, "No. I have to see this Reese. I'm not going to be able to stay sane if I don't know what's happened to him."

Hughes stared at him with a remorseful expression on his face before turning to Jones and nodding. The younger agent swallowed hard before hitting the play button.

_Neal's face quickly resumed its indifferent mask as the blond addressed the camera again._

"_Now, our demands are quite simple, really. We want our sister back, and immunity while we're at it. In return, you'll get your pet con back." There was a flash of silver across one of Neal's shoulders, a red line welling up quickly. Neal let out a gasp that expressed both pain and surprise. The knife flashed again, cutting across his collar bone this time. He ground his teeth together to prevent himself from crying out._

_The blond made her way around him, so that she was standing at his back again. She placed the knife tip high on his cheek bone, applying pressure till blood started welling._

"_Where was I? Oh yes, so as long as we get our sister back in a timely fashion, you'll get your pet back. Throw in our immunity, and you'll get him back alive and in relatively one piece. But until then, we're going to continue to play."_

_The knife gouged across Neal's cheek. His pained cry was cut off halfway as the video ended._


	5. Brief Respite

**AN: In celebration of my last class of the semester tonight, I give you another chapter! Yay! In other news, blondy needs a name, any suggestions? :P **

Neal sat gasping in pain, blood flowing freely from the gash now marring his cheek. Clenching his teeth, he struggled to regain his composure quickly. The blond had walked over to join her sister, who was working on the laptop. After taking deep breaths for several minutes, Neal finally felt collected enough to take stock of the damage that had been delivered to his body.

He was of course extremely stiff from being tied down to a metal chair for who knew how long. His face felt swollen and was probably bruised from being hit. Looking down, he was his wrists and elbows were bleeding sluggishly where the zip ties bit into his skin. No doubt his ankles were doing the same. Shifting slightly, Neal peered down at his shoulder and collar bone. He sighed in relief; the cuts weren't near as deep as they had felt. With that knowledge, he forced his attention to his surroundings, looking for a way to get loose. Of course he already knew he wouldn't be able to get out on his own, but it still gave him something to hold onto that resembled hope.

:_ Peter._: He thought : _Peter will find me, he always does…_: He didn't realize his lips were moving, soundlessly forming his thoughts, as he stared blankly at the sisters. The blond looked up at him briefly, an irritated look decorated her features.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you it's rude to stare?" She growled, as she maneuvered her way around the equipment and her sister. Hips swinging, she strode up to Neal and leaned over so her face was level with his. He shrank back into the chair as far as he could. The blond only smiled as she moved around him.

"I need to go freshen up for the next round, play nice you two!" The metal door grated open and shut as the blond left the room. The small brunette continued to work on the laptop, ignoring Neal's presence. He tentatively licked his chapped lips.

"Uh, excuse me." He rasped out, his usually smooth voice no more than a ruff croak. The brunette evidently didn't hear his pathetic voice. "Excuse me." He forced his voice out louder, his throat protesting its use with pain. The brunette finally looked up at him, face set in harsh boredom, "What?"

"Do you think you could give me something to drink, please?" He whispered, trying to smile but grimacing instead when his cheek reminded him that it had a gash in it. The brunette's face softened as she grabbed a water bottle and walked over to him. She held the bottle up to his lips and he drank greedily. After the bottle was empty, she tossed it aside and started to move back to the computer.

"Thank you…" Neal said, purposefully leaving the end of the sentence to linger, hoping for…

"Jenna." The brunette said quietly. :_ Yes! Haven't lost all my charm._: Neal thought happily.

"Thank you, Jenna." He murmured as he suddenly felt groggy. :_ Well, crap._: Was his last coherent thought as he slipped into unconsciousness.


	6. You Aren't His Only Friend

**AN: Alrighty then, here we go. Just a little bit of a transition of sorts here. I'll hopefully have another chapter of this up in the next couple days, I still have to watch the new episode. : / I'm a bad little fan. :P**

Peter walked into the FBI building early in the morning, after Hughes had ordered him home to get some rest. Needless to say, he didn't get any. He had tried, knowing that he needed to be in top form if he was going to find Neal in time, but he couldn't stop seeing that knife cutting into Neal's pale skin every time he closed his eyes.

:_No._: He thought to himself as he got into the elevator and hit the button for the 21st floor, :_There is no question of 'if' and it will be in time…_:

The elevator dinged and he stepped off and walked through the glass doors of the White Collar division. He continued walking past Neal's desk without a glance, not needing another reminder of the mess he got his friend into.

"Wow, you look like shit, Agent Burke."

Peter spun around to see a long haired brunette sitting at Neal's desk. She smiled sweetly at him.

"Alex." He breathed in shock, before clearing his throat and regaining his composure, "Ms. Hunter, what brings you here?"

"Mozzie asked me to come and bring you this." She waved a manila folder at him.

"That the only reason you're here then?" He asked bluntly. A look of something akin to disbelief crossed Alex's face.

"You think I'm just a currier or something? I can to help, in whatever way I can. Cause believe it or not, Peter, you're not Neal's only friend. Mozzie's out there right now trying to narrow down the area where Neal is. Me, I'm here to give you what he's already put together, then I'm heading out to follow up on some of my own leads." She shoved the folder into Peter's chest and began stalking out of the office. She had the door open before his brain stared working correctly.

"Alex, wait!" He called after her. She paused and glanced back. "Thank you."

She nodded in response before stepping through the door and onto the elevator that Jones and Diana had just vacated. The two agents looked back and forth between the elevator that Alex had gotten into and Peter. The Senior Agent didn't bother acknowledging their presence as he scanned the file Alex had given him. His eyes widen suddenly.

"I want our guest from last night back in an interrogation room in twenty minutes." He growled as he looked up at his team. Diana nodded and pulled out her phone to carry out the order. Jones looked expectantly at his boss, who took a paper out of the file and handed it to him.

"Jones, see what you can do to put together a task force to search that area."

The other agent took the paper and headed off to start his task. Peter turned and made his way up to his office, he had an important call to make that would best be done in private. Not that it mattered much, the office didn't have the best sound proofing, and his temper was bound to get the better of him…


	7. Of Roofies and Tazers

**AN: First off, I just want to say I love you people! Many, many thanks for all the reviews and story alerts! You guys are awesome for sticking to this story and my random updating schedule. And now that White Collar is back w/ new episodes, it'll counter my recent Supernatural addiction. Which will hopefully mean more updates, so cross your… well everything. ;)**

**So this is another flashback chapter. I felt the need to explain how Neal came to be in the torture chamber. :D**

**One Day Ago**

Neal walked into the restaurant, wearing his best suit with his trademark fedora on his head, and made his way towards the bar. He scanned the patrons seated there and saw a blond, brunette and red head sitting together. Taking a seat a couple stools away from them, he asked the bartender for a bottle of their finest wine, making sure the women heard him.

The plan was for Neal to flaunt himself as a wealthy playboy, catch their suspects' attention and lead them back to a penthouse the FBI had just raided in a drug bust. He idly rubbed a foot against his now naked ankle. The FBI wasn't taking any chances of his cover being blown by the tracker.

Glancing over at the three women, he saw they were watching him as he sipped the wine with seductive smiles on their faces. He returned the smile with his signature grin as he picked up the wine bottle and his glass, and walked over to them.

"Hey there ladies, mind if I join you?" He asked, lathering on the charm. They giggled as the red head nodded.

"Steve Tabernackle." He said, introducing his alias, shaking each of their hands, "My, you are all so beautiful. Can I interest you in some fine wine?"

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Several hours and bottles of wine later, Neal was stumbling slightly with the blond into the alley behind the restaurant. He paused for a moment, something wasn't right. The blond tugged on his hand.

"What's wrong?" She asked, her voice heavy with lust. She wrapped her arms around Neal's neck and started planting kisses across his face.

"Not s're." He slurred, his brows knitting together suddenly. He hadn't had enough wine to even be buzzed. His thoughts felt like they were starting to blur together. That wasn't good. One of the women must have slipped him something. Pushing the blond away from him suddenly, he stumbled back into the wall.

"H'te t' cut the p'rty sh'rt l'dies…" He mumbled, hoping that Peter and the other agents could decipher his slurred speech through the transmitter he had in his coat pocket and come to save him. The blond cocked her head to the side, brown eyes turning hard as a not-so-nice smirk crept onto her face.

"What was that Steve? Or is it Neal Caffrey, I'm confused." She purred as she started stalking menacingly towards him. Neal's eyes widened in shock as he cursed in his head. They knew who he was, that's not good. He weakly pushed himself from the wall and tried to run unsteadily to the opening of the alley. Suddenly there was a jolting pain in his lower back and he cried out in pain. Half-conscious, he felt himself fall face first to the ground.

"The party's only just begun, Caffrey." The words no more than a whisper as he felt another jolt of pain and slipped gratefully into darkness.


	8. Too Much, Too Late

**AN: So another flashback chapter, mostly cause georgiamomma123 asked where Neal's back-up was, and let's face it, it's a good idea. So this chapter is dedicated to you. : ) **

**This chapter is also brought to you by the new CD I got; Until We Have Faces by Red. I've been listening to it all day as I worked on this chapter.**

**Italics in the second part are the audio coming from the transmitter. Anywho, I'll be quiet now and allow you to get onto what you came here for. Read and enjoy!**

1 Day Ago

_Crik, crik, crik, crik_

Peter's joints popped as he stretched out his back and shoulders. He'd been cramped up in the surveillance van with Jones and Diana for hours now, waiting for Neal to either get their suspects to the penthouse where they'd be arrested or call the operation off. Settling himself back in his chair, he only half-listened to the conversation Neal was having with the suspects.

"They're good." Jones murmured thoughtfully.

"Yup, it's going to be a long night." Peter yawned, stretching again.

"Oh joy." Diana said in false cheer.

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The agents became more alert when the ambient noise of the bar died down and there were only two voices being picked up by Neal's transmitter.

"_Where we going?"_ Neal's slurred voice asked.

"_Where do you think, silly? The back alley, no one will disturb us there."_ The woman explained, lust thick in her voice.

"You have got to be kidding me." Jones groaned. Diana flashed an annoyed look at him quickly before rewinding the audio back and listening to Neal's voice again.

"He's slurring. Is he drunk?" She asked in disbelief.

"Well, he's been drinking wine with those women for how long now?" Jones observed.

"No." Peter said resolutely, "He knows better than to do anything that would get his guard down around those women. Something doesn't feel right, let's get ready to move."

Just as Peter finished strapping on his bullet-resistant vest, he heard Neal slur out the phrase they had agreed on to pull the plug on the operation.

"Let's move!" He ordered quickly before jumping out of the van, running for the alley, and Neal, with Jones and Diana following him. As he ran, he shouted orders into a radio for a second team of agents to move in and arrest the two other sisters.

Drawing his gun, he sped around the corner shouting, "Freeze! FBI!" He himself froze for a moment, panic rising in his chest when he saw that the alley was empty. "Spread out, they couldn't have gotten too far." He said as calmly as he could.

After a few minutes of searching, Diana had found something and called him over. Seeing the look on her face, he knew he wasn't going to like whatever it was. Looking down at the ground by where she was crouched, he saw Neal's transmitter. Or at least what was left of it. A few feet away was what appeared to be the cartridge from a taser.

"Son of a bitch." Peter muttered, running a hand over his face.

"Sir." An unfamiliar voice called. Peter looked up to see a member from the other team approaching.

"You get them?"

"We only got one. The other one slipped out somehow."

Peter sighed in frustration and pinched the bridge of his nose as he spoke, "I want every security tape and traffic camera from a ten block radius analyzed for any sign of Neal and where they might have taken him. And get our suspect into an integration room. I want to have a little chat with her…"


	9. You in Trouble Now!

**AN: I know, I know, it's been awhile. Again. I've been busy and sick and my muse was just being a meanie face and not cooperating. So here's a little bit of something to tide you over. I'm hoping to have a LONG whumped Neal filled chapter in the next couple of days, so be patient! Love for everyone, read and enjoy! ^_^ (and if letters are missing from words, it's cuase my keyboard is being silly)**

Peter stalked into the interrogation room where the red headed woman sat, looking far less dignified than she had the night before.

"To what do I owe-"She began before Peter cut her off.

"Rebecca Louise Middlestat, age thirty-four, born and raised in Los Angeles; before your father was arrested for breaking and entering, grand theft auto, and forgery among various other crimes. You and your two younger sisters, Kelsey and Jenna, where sent to live with your uncle in Miami shortly after your father was sentenced. A few short years later, you girls disappear and dear old uncle Hank is suddenly tortured and murdered. Continuing on, a series of crimes similar to Hank's start popping up all up and down the east coast. Any of this ringing a bell for you Ms. Middlestat? I'm going to assume by the look of utter shock on your face that it does. Good." Peter smirked darkly at the woman as he sat down across from her.

"H-how? We buried all of that! No Fed could have ever-!"

"You're right. We never would have, but unfortunately for you and your sisters, we FBI agents aren't Neal's only friends. So thanks to them, not only now we have a smaller area to search for Neal, I also got to have a little chat with your father. He was very helpful, willing actually, to fill in the blanks on you and your sisters. He also wanted me to let you know he'll be sending you girls some soap after you're all incarcerated."

Rebecca stared open mouthed in horror at Peter. "I want a deal." She whispered.

"You give me the exact location where your sisters have Neal, and if he's there, then we'll see about a deal."

Just then the door opened and Diana waved Peter to come in the hall. He stood, glaring at Rebecca the whole time, and left the room.

"Boss."

The raw concern in the younger agent's voice at that one word combined with the worry in her face, made Peter's heart stop a beat.

"Another DVD was just delivered."


	10. So It Begins

**AN: Hello once more! Kicking off a couple of good whumped Neal chapters now, finally. In review, **_**Italics**_** = video. Alrighty then; ready, set, read! Oh, and enjoy! : )**

**AN2: Just a quick thanks to the person who informed me I switched tenses at the end of this chapter, my bad. Should probably point out that this story is unbeta'd, so every and all mistakes are my own. I also typically write these chapters extremely late at night, so fatigue doesn't help the matter. Alright, I'm done now, have fun!**

_SMACK!_

Neal jolted into consciousness, feeling the sting of a slap across his face as well as fresh blood rolling down his cheek. Blinking rapidly to clear his vision, he groaned loudly as his surroundings came into focus.

"Well aren't you just a little pansy." The blond mocked harshly. Neal grunted in response, shifting in the chair as much as his bonds would allow. He noted with a bad feeling in his stomach, that he could barely feel his hands and feet. Licking his lips, he took stock of the activity around him.

The blond was connecting wires to a car battery that was now sitting on a table next to him. He also caught sight of several flashes of silver and a couple bottles and vials with unknown liquids in them. Swallowing nervously, he forced himself to look elsewhere in the room.

Jenna was behind the camera, plugging in some more wires between it and the computer. She glanced his way and met his eyes for a fleeting moment before she resumed what she was doing. That one look told him everything he didn't want to know about what was going to happen.

It was going to hurt, and he was more than likely not getting out of there alive.

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_The blond woman, Kelsey (from what Peter learned from her father), was sitting in an overstuffed chair next to a fireplace, sipping a glass of wine._

"_Good morning agents. Still haven't heard anything about our sister, and I'm wondering if you even care about your little consultant. I'm pretty sure he's wondering the same thing." A dark grin crept onto her face, "So think of this as an attempt to boost your resolve to do right by pretty boy. We're going to put on a live show for you feds. The link to the feed will be at the end of this video. There'll also be a phone number so you can contact us to get the location of where to bring our sister and get your con back. Or, you know, pick up his body if you'd rather not and I'm done with him."_

The video cut to a black screen with a link and phone number on it.

Peter, Hughes, Diana, Jones, and several other agents stared in shock at the TV on the wall of the White Collar division's conference room. Hughes was the first to recover.

"Get some tech teams on this, we're going to try tracing the feed when we open it, as well as try to triangulate that phone." He ordered. As the extra agents moved out of the room, he turned to Peter, "Hear anything from Ms. Hunter or that Mozzie fellow?"

"Nothing new, other than Mozzie's positive they're holding Neal somewhere in Queens." Peter sighed, running a hand over his face wearily.

"Guess that's better than searching through the whole city." The older agent mused darkly. An agent knocked at the door, and sticking her head into the room, informed them that they were ready to start tracing the feed whenever they were ready. After the door shut, there was an ominous silence before Jones cleared his throat and activated the feed.

_Neal was still sitting tied to the metal chair with his eyes closed. He was naked now, except for his boxer briefs. The blood on his shoulder and chest was dark and dried. Fresh blood was mixed with dry on his cheek, where a new bruise was developing._

_Suddenly the blond was in front of the camera._

"_Well hello there agents, thanks for tuning in. Now, before we begin, I just want to remind you that you can call in and stop this at any time. So, without further adieu, let's get this party started!"_

_She sauntered towards Neal, whose eyes were open now and he watched her approach. She picked up something thin and silver from the table next to him and held it up in view of the camera, revealing that it was a scalpel. Moving painfully slow, she drug the blade hard across Neal's bicep several times, leaving deep, long and bloody lines behind._

_Neal was visibly tense and biting his lip while he was being cut. He let out a shaky breath when Kelsey stopped and turned towards the table for something. When she turned back to him, there's a bottle in her hand, the contents of which she splashed onto the gashes she made._

_Neal Screamed._


	11. Into the Nothing

**AN: Another chapter? So soon? Yes. Apparently I have a 1AM muse who won't leave me alone. Pretty much 100% Neal whumpage this chapter. But don't worry; we're close to the end, so Peter will be coming to the rescue soon! Read and enjoy! (Also, bonus points for anyone who can figure out the song the chapter title is from.)  
**

Pain. That's all Neal knew at the moment, there was no thinking around it. He couldn't do anything but clench his eyes shut and scream with it. The liquid the blond had splashed on the gashes in his arm seared like nothing he'd ever felt before. It burned as it dribbled down his arm. He jerked on the ties securing him to the chair in vain, as he writhed in pain. Panting, he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, to stop himself from screaming anymore. Several minutes, or several hours (his pain filled mind lost all track of time), passed before the pain dulled enough for him to slump in the chair. Huffing in breaths, he cracked his eyes open. Blinking through the tears that were streaming down his face, he saw the blond watching him with sick amusement.

"Like that?" She crooned, "That was diluted hydrochloric acid. Nasty stuff, especially on an open wound. Anyways, you've got a nice set of lungs on you, pretty boy, I want to hear you scream some more."

She picked up a crowbar and swung it at one of Neal's knees. He couldn't stop the scream that bubbled past his lips as it connected, and he fell gratefully into darkness

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Ice cold water fell over his head and shoulders, pushing him from the blissful void of nothingness back into reality. Which really sucked at the moment. The water turned the dull throbbing in his arm into a raging burn that would have consumed him if it weren't for the constant throbbing from his knee. Blinking open hazy eyes, Neal found himself faced with the blond again. She held a metal bucket in her hand as she looked down on him. With a smirk, she swung the bucket at his head. The resulting clang echoed through the room. Neal's head fell forward as blood began running down his face. He was about to pass into the darkness once more, when a hand fisted itself in his hair and pulled him up. The blond was behind him, facing the camera again.

"Look into that camera, pretty boy, and tell your handler you've had enough. Tell him to stop this. Its well within his power to do so, all he needs to do is make one little phone call."

Neal was trembling, whether from being cold or the stress he couldn't tell, but he knew he was at his limit. He slowly focused on the camera, putting on his most determined face.

"Peter." He croaked out, "Don't give in to them."

The fist in his hair tightened painfully, drawing his head up and back, before another one slammed into his throat. His eyes bulged as he started hacking and gasping for air. Somehow, he managed to focus on the camera again, hoping to reaffirm his words as he struggled to get air into his lungs.

A heeled shoe impacted with his sternum, knocking whatever breath he had managed to get, out of his chest. There was also a small crack, felt but not heard, and Neal cried out soundlessly. He instinctively braced his body, waiting for another strike, but nothing came. Deciding to take advantage of the situation, he took the time to focus solely on breathing. His chest ached with every breath and his throat felt as though it was constantly being constricted.

The sound of electricity sparking jolted Neal's awareness to his surroundings. The blond was standing next to him holding a small jumper cable, which she clamped onto the tip of one of his fingers before turning her back to him again. Neal was still trying to think through the pain and figure out what was going to happen next when the blond turned to face him. She was holding another wire that was stripped at the end, exposing the copper. Following the wire back, he saw that both of them were attached to the car battery.

: _So not good._: Was the only thought that his muddled mind could come up with.


	12. Stalling for Time

**AN: Hi there? I know, I've been bad and haven't updated since the beginning of the month. Please don't hurt me! My muse got high jacked by Supernatural and a duck. You all have HuffynDK to thank though, she messaged me and told me to update, so I'm updating. :) [a glass of good wine helped get me in the White Collar mindset too ;)] You also get a nice long chapter out of it. Oh yeah, and JennyLB gets twelvity-five points for guessing that last chapter's title is a song by Breaking Benjamin. Luckily the Error 2 bull isn't affecting the White Collar category. *phew* Ok, reading time starts… Now! Enjoy!**

Peter was fairly certain that he was going to be ill.

Neal had been screaming and crying for close to ten minutes now, after Kelsey had splashed that clear liquid over the gashes she had made. Seeing Neal in this much pain and not being able to do anything about it was driving Peter insane. He paced behind the conference table, briefly glancing at the screen every other second and continuously running his hands through his hair in barely suppressed frustration.

His phone vibrated unexpectedly, and he almost ignored it before thinking better of it. Checking, he saw there was a text from a blocked number.

**Found him. 1735 56****th**** Ave. Hurry. ~Haversham**

"Mozzie's got an address!" He nearly shouted as he started to run towards the door, "Jones, get SWAT teams sent to 1735 56th Ave right away, we'll meet them there. Diana, you're with me!"

They sped as fast as possible to Neal's location, which in Peter's opinion wasn't fast enough. He couldn't stop thinking of all that damned blond could have done to Neal while he wasn't watching. Then an idea came to him and he was suddenly glad Diana was the one driving. Pulling out his phone, he started to dial.

"What are you doing?" Diana asked, glancing at him.

"Making a phone call." He said as he raised the phone to his ear. It rang once, twice, thrice.

"Well, well, well Agent Burke. Took your sweet time, now didn't you?" Kelsey's sultry voice purred through the speaker, "Were you enjoying the show?"

Peter had to take a deep breath before he responded.

"I'm ready to deal." He said shortly.

"Good, Neal will be glad to hear that."

There was an agonizing, male, scream in the background.

"Leave him alone!" Peter yelled through the phone, "I'm willing to give you your sister, so just let him be!"

"Peter! What are you doing?" Diana whispered harshly as they exited the expressway.

"Stalling." He said quickly, holding onto the hand bar as the car took a tight turn.

"Sorry, my hand slipped. Now, I'll give you the address for where you can drop our sister off, where you'll get t the location of where your little con will be."

"No. You said we'd be doing an exchange, as in a face-to-face. You won't get your sister unless I know for a fact Neal is safe, which means you get Rebecca at the same time I get Neal. We're not doing this any other way." Peter ground out through clenched teeth, hoping he didn't just put his friend into a worse situation than he already was in. There was silence on the line as Diana pulled up to a decrepit and boarded up building. There were police cars all along the block as well as a PD SWAT van. The agents exited the vehicle and Peter indicated for Diana to deal with them. He was about to hang the phone up, thinking Kelsey had hung up on him, when she started speaking.

"I guess that could work. But it hast to be just you and our sister. If I see any other agents, I will kill your pet and then you. Now, you know the St. Mary's cemetery in Queens, right? We'll meet there, in the center, in an hour. Till then, agent Burke."

"Wait! I want to talk to him! That's my last condition before we go through with this."

"You can see and hear that he's still alive, why do you need to speak with him?" The woman asked tersely.

"Humor me." He growled.

There was a small 'hmpf' from the other side of the line, followed by some murmurs before pain filled gasps came through the speaker.

"Peter?" Neal's voice was tight and raw from screaming.

"Neal, we're coming for you, just hang on buddy." Peter reassured the younger man.

"Don't… Do it…"

"And that's enough of that now." Kelsey's voice replaced Neal's, "You have an hour, agent."

The line went dead.

"Boss." Diana called over to Peter, walking up with an officer, "Peter, this is Captain Druger."

"Agent Burke." Peter said roughly, reaching out to shake the man's hand, "Not that I'm not glad to have you and your people here, but what exactly are you doing here?"

"We received a message saying a federal consultant was being held and tortured in this building. We called the bureau to see what they knew and they authorized us to go in as soon as you got here. We've already set up a perimeter in case anyone in there tried to run."

"Perfect, good work captain. I was able to buy us an hour, though hopefully it won't take that long for us to find our man. Our suspects are two females and they are to be treated as armed and dangerous. Have your people ready to go in five, agent Barrigan and I are going to vest up quick."

"Sure thing, agent Burke. We'll have an ambulance on stand-by for when you find your man."

"Thank you captain."

As the officer went back to his men, Peter turned to Diana.

"Jones called and said Hughes gave the order. That bitch electrocuted Neal with a car battery briefly, and seems poised to do it again."

Peter didn't respond, instead he gulped down his anger as he strapped his vest on. Finally he met Diana's eyes.

"If she so much as twitches in Neal's direction when we find them, don't hesitate to take a shot."

"Was already planning on it, boss."

With that they headed over to the building's entrance, where the police SWAT was waiting for them.


	13. Begining of the End

**AN: Well, it wasn't quiet as long of a wait this time. :) I've been writing too much fluff lately, so every time I started writing this chapter, it just didn't feel right. I'm still not satisfied with the beginning, but it's better than nothing, right? Anyways I'm thinking one more chapter after this, so enjoy!**

By the time the police SWAT team had cleared the upper floors of the building, the FBI SWAT as well as Jones, had arrived. Switching out personnel, they made ready to sweep the basement.

"We have twenty-five minutes left on the clock, let's move fast and keep it clean." Peter instructed, "Notify me immediately if you find Caffrey. Neutralize the suspects using your best judgment."

Acknowledgements were murmured as the SWAT officers moved out, followed by the agents. They swept through the corridor, keeping noise to a minimum. Halfway through the search, an officer signaled for silence near a heavy metal door. Peter crept up to his position and put an ear against the door. Sure enough there where voices coming from the other side. He stepped to the side and the entry team moved forward. On three, they rammed the door open and Peter rushed through the opening, gun raised.

"Freeze! FBI!"

The stench of blood, sweat and fear immediately hit him and he had to fight not to gag. Peter forced himself to ignore the figure in the chair that was occupying the middle of the room and focused on the two standing figures instead. The one furthest from the door, Jenna the brunette, raised her hands immediately in surrender. Two SWAT agents moved slowly in her direction, wary of the woman standing in the middle of the room.

Kelsey was frozen in shock for a moment when the agents burst into the room. She quickly recovered herself with a growl, grabbing the wire that was attached to the car battery still.

"Kinda figured you were lying about our sister." She sneered, moving the exposed wire close to the slumped form in front of her.

"Figured you weren't going to hold up on your end of the bargain anyways, and it looks like I would have been right. Now set the wire on the ground and back away from him, you're under arrest." Peter said as calmly as possible, his finger on the trigger the whole time. The blond sneered at the agents, her eyes dark and determined. The hand holding the wire twitched towards Neal. Three shots rang out in the small room. Everyone was frozen as the wire fell to the ground, closely followed by the blond's body.

Peter holstered his still hot weapon and bolted forward. He kneeled down in front of Neal's pale, limp form. Feeling for a pulse, he sighed in relief when he felt it, granted it was erratic and faint.

"Someone get me a knife, we need to get these ties off. Get the EMTs down here fast!" He shouted. A SWAT officer came over and made quick work of the plastic ties. Peter supported Neal and gently slid him down to the ground, cradling him to his chest in an effort to warm him up.

"It's ok Neal, I got you now." The agent muttered into his matted hair. He felt eyelashes flutter on his neck and pulled back slightly to see a sliver of blue peering at him.

"P'tr?" Neal groaned. Peter hugged him to his chest again, overjoyed that Neal was conscious.

"Hey there buddy. Just hold on, the paramedics are on their way down."

"You f'nd me." Neal whispered, letting out a shuddering sigh while tears of relief leaked from his eyes. He sagged into Peter even more, "Kn'w you h'd m' back."

"Always Neal."

The paramedics arrived shortly after, pushing Peter aside so they could assess Neal's condition. He glanced over at the Kelsey's still figure nearby on the ground. There were two bullet holes in her chest and one right between her eyes.

"It was worth it." Diana said, walking up to her boss. He looked at her and nodded. They were both going to be on forced leave while things got sorted out.

"You two go with Neal to the hospital, I'll take care of things here." Jones said from behind them, inclining his head towards the door where the EMTs were moving through with the stretcher Neal was strapped into. Peter nodded his appreciation and caught up to the paramedics to check which hospital they were taking Neal to. He watched them load him into the ambulance before getting into Diana's car. Suddenly he felt like he was ten years older, the exhaustion from the last couple days sinking in.

"We did it." Diana said quietly after a few minutes of driving.

"Yeah, we did. He's banged up pretty bad, but he's still alive." Peter answered, a sad smile on his lips.


End file.
